Little Gifts

We've just turned the clocks forward by an hour, and the evenings are sunnier and more and more like spring. The weather (where I am) still can't decide if it wants to freeze us or roast us, and tries to blow us away in the mean time.

And in all of this changing of the seasons, I want to take a moment to step back and just marvel at the beauty of it.

Spring isn't my favorite season, but looking out at the crisp sunny day ahead of me, I think that spring is an amazing gift.

The world around us - the man-made world that's called society - is full of so many dark, depressing tings. We hear about the stressors of adult life, and all we can see in the news is death and horror. We see people shaking their heads and sighing about how they're leaving so much trouble for our generation when we inherit the world.

It makes me wonder why I would want to inherit that world.  

Not a few weeks ago, it was cold and dreary (and - oh the horror - icy). Clouds hung low in the sky, and dead leaves and dull grass was all that you could see on the ground. Stark, bare trees stood still, only shaking their branches when the cold wind comes around.

But in a few short weeks, the world is all so changed. The sky is high and blue. There are colors - everywhere. Lush greens, and bright pinks and whites and yellows. I see crepe myrtles and dogwood in bloom everywhere, and the wind is playful instead of biting.

And these change in the weather reminds me to look out for the little things we might take for granted, because those things are marvelous.

Sometimes, we need to be reminded that there is beauty in the world. We take so much for granted that it's so easy to overlook the amazing things in life and bombard ourselves with the negative things. But when we start looking, there are so many things out there that make life worth living - and the world something that we might want to inherit.

And in the few days that I've been stepping back to really think about these little blessings, I've found so much that makes my life worth living. Sharing a family night with my family. Inside jokes. Flowers, warmth, and color. Sleeping in an extra hour. Blueberry pie. Books. Watching a sunset, or a flock of birds take off from the ground. Small, precious things, that might make up a "normal" day, but that can be so extraordinary. 

So go outside. Take a walk. Go to the store, to the library, to school. And stop, and look around, and listen. How many beautiful things can you see when you look for them? 

(I know this wasn't a normal post in a few different senses - and I know that it was late! It's been a hectic week, and I won't deny that I've been feeling lazy and antisocial recently. I apologize for not sticking to schedule!)

Talk to me! Can you think of small, beautiful things you take for granted? Are you on spring break right now? If so, how is it going?